Online Gambling on College Campuses Is Reported as Growing at an Alarming Rate Country-wide

College student Greg Hogan found his practice session brought to an abrupt end when police arrested him for robbing an Allentown bank.  Hogan was at the Zoellner Arts Center, practicing on his cello for the Lehigh University Philharmonic, at the time of his arrest.  In plain view of dozens of his classmates along with family members, and friends, he was taken away in handcuffs.

Most would find it shocking that Hogan, as the sophomore class president and son of a Baptist minister, has been arrested for a crime.  That is all but the director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, Edward Looney.  Looney doesn’t find it surprising at all.  Even though Hogan doesn’t conform with the typical profile of a bank robbery suspect, according to Looney, his aptitude and competitive nature do make him the type of college student that would be most likely to fall victim to Internet gambling debt.  It would follow from this that he might then use crime as a way to escape that debt.

Today’s technology makes it possible for many people, and that includes college students like Hogan, who otherwise would never have set foot in a casino before, are now able to make contact with hundreds of Internet casinos.  In addition to this, there appears to be no limits as to how much they can bet other than that set by their credit card limits.  In many cases this alone can add up to thousands of dollars, and the fun and excitement offered by these casinos is often too much of an attraction for students who are unable to resist.  This means that some students will resort to criminal outlets in order to support their habit.

The online service that tracks online poker worldwide, PokerPulse.com reports that each month more than 1.8 million people play poker online.  Together they may wager on the average about $200 million a day.  Much of this is taking place on U.S. College campuses, according to Looney said.

Looney reports that college campus gambling has reached the stage of being an epidemic, and that Internet gambling is most likely the fastest-growing type of campus gambling.  He also states that given one hour on any campus he would be able to find an active game or a student who is not able stay off his computer. According to Looney, the problem is reaching a crisis stage and the fact is that it is just beginning.

Hogan is a 19-year-old finance and accounting major who graduated from a $19,000-a-year private high school.  This impeccable background would seem to defy the what is typically believed to constitute the makings of a bank robber.  Nevertheless, Hogan’s lawyer admits that on December 9th, Hogan robbed a Wachovia bank.  He apparently did this in order to acquire funds for paying off the $5,000 in debt he had built up by playing online poker.

Precisely because of his wealthy background Hogan’s case has drawn a great deal of notice. But, in actuality, most of the college students found to be predisposed to online gambling troubles profile, matches Hogan’s profile.

Roughly ninety percent of college gamblers are men.  This is in accordance with a database built by the Council on Compulsive Gambling in New Jersey.  Of these 90 percent, the typical compulsive gambler is an intelligent, high-energy, competitive, student with good grades.  Such a student is usually popular with his peers, demonstrates a talent for math, and in addition works a part-time job.

While it may be true that the phenomenon of college campus problem online gambling is still somewhat rare, according to Looney it is only a matter of time until the phenomenon becomes a common experience.  At this time however, the problem has brought up sufficient interest to attract the interest of several talk shows, including the Today Show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and Good Morning America.

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